Stress is a killer. My dad always said this to me growing up, but it wasn’t until recently that I really understood what he meant.
A few months ago, I was working a significant deal where my team and I at Gunster were selling a company for hundreds of millions of dollars. All hands were on deck, especially when my team left for vacation, leaving more on my plate. Eight-hour days quickly turned into 16-hour days, which meant that I avoided all personal activities, including time with friends and family and, for purposes of this post, working out (which for me meant playing pickleball or going to Club Pilates).
I began to wear the stress of the deal. I grew increasingly lethargic—deal fatigue is real—and my chest began to tighten day-by-day. I wrote off my chest tightness as the stress of the deal, but once the deal closed, my chest began to hurt even more. It was constant, which led me to Urgent Care and an EKG. The doctor boiled my chest tightness and pain down to stress—go figure—and told me to go exercise, as that has historically been my escape and my stress relief.
Since that day, I have made a concerted effort to never skip a pickleball game or pilates workout. I am a better person and a better lawyer when I take an hour or two to focus on my own well-being. And, although a physical stress relief, not only is my body better off, but my mind is better off.
My dad was right. Stress is a killer, but it won’t be a killer for me anymore.
What do you do to relieve stress? Any pickleball addicts out there?